your halloween treat is two chapters in one day.
Things in the Cullen house were... tense, to say the least, since Bella and Edward returned from their honeymoon. The house was divided on the situation — the whole Bella being impregnated by a vampire situation. Something was growing inside of her, and most everyone was convinced it was a monster that would kill Bella in the end.
It was evident that the human wouldn't survive. Every day, she got weaker, her growing stomach covered in bruises, her cheeks sunken in from lack of nutrition.
But Bella wanted to keep whatever was inside of her, and so Valeria and Rosalie were there to make sure the rest of the family respected her autonomy. It was rare Bella got to make a decision for herself, and even though it killed Val to see her in such a horrible state, it still was Bella's choice, who was already attached to what they all hoped was a baby and not a monster.
One downside to constantly being at the house to take care of Bella was that Valeria couldn't go to the reservation. She couldn't see Sam or listen to Leah go on about how great Mike was, who was officially her boyfriend even if he didn't know about spirit shifters and vampires yet.
Valeria missed Sam, wanting more than anything to see him — to not just talk over the phone. Things with Brady and Collin had settled down, and so he didn't understand why she seemed to be avoiding seeing him physically. It made him wonder if he'd done something wrong. If only he knew she was trying to hide a potential demon-hybrid baby from him.
She knew what Sam would think of it and she knew what he would be duty-bound to do. She could only hope that since the pregnancy was going so swiftly, that the thing would be born before Sam could find out.
Of course, the universe didn't seem to share the same wishes as Valeria, because two weeks into Bella's return, Jacob rode up to the house on his motorcycle, clearly not in a good mood.
Carlisle was the one to greet him at the door cordially. "Hello, Jacob, how are you?"
Valeria thought it sounded as if Jacob forced himself into the house, not bothering with politeness. "Listen, just give it to me straight—"
Though she wasn't a vampire, Bella could hear his voice carrying through the open house. "Jake, is that you?" she called.
"She's here?" Jacob asked sharply before storming up to the second floor. In an instant, Rosalie stood protectively in front of Bella, which Valeria thought was needless. He wouldn't harm Bella — he'd harm Edward.
"They came home two weeks ago," Carlisle muttered softly while following him.
When Jacob reached the living room, he was surprised to see the entire family present, especially when Sam had been dying to see Valeria in person for the last week. But there she was, sitting on the edge of the same couch as Bella, whose form was hidden behind Rosalie.
"Jake. I'm glad you came," Bella said, nervously pulling at the blanket over her lap.
He moved closer to Bella, but Rosalie stopped him with a glare. "Close enough."
"What's your problem?" Jacob asked, hating her even more in that moment for coming between them.
"Rose, it's okay," Bella told her.
"Jake won't hurt her," Valeria added, knowing how much the boy cared for her. Maybe she wasn't his Imprint, but he still loved her.
Against her wishes, Rosalie stepped to the side, revealing Bella's sickly and still very human figure. And Jacob was both concerned and relieved that she wasn't a vampire yet. "You look terrible," he said, chuckling a little.
Bella's lips turned up in a bitter smile. "Yeah, it's nice to see you, too."
"So," he said, studying her figure as he sat, "are you gonna tell me what's wrong with you?"
In response, Bella looked to Valeria. "Val, you wanna help me up?"
In an instant, Valeria was by her side and helping her up. It was evident as soon as Bella stood what was wrong with her. Even though she was a vampire, Valeria had to look away from her bruised stomach, hating the physical signs of the torture Bella was putting herself through. Jacob recoiled and glared at Edward, realizing what unspeakable thing had been done on their honeymoon.
"You did this!" he seethed.
Edward grimaced, hating himself far more than Jacob did in that moment. When Jacob charged at Edward, Emmett held him back.
"I didn't know it was even possible," Carlisle told him, shaking his head.
Jacob whirled around to look at the doctor of the group. "What is it?"
"I'm not sure," Carlisle said in a gentle tone. "Ultrasounds and needles won't penetrate the embryonic sac."
"I can't see it, either," Alice said hesitantly. Then she bit the inside of her cheek anxiously, stating what they were all concerned about. "And I can't see Bella's future anymore."
"We've been researching legends, but there isn't much to go on," Carlisle added.
"But it's strong," Valeria whispered, gaining Jacob's attention. "And growing really fast. Too fast"
"Why haven't you done anything? Take it out of her!" Jacob shouted.
"This is none of your business, dog!" Rosalie snapped protectively.
"Rose!" Esme said in a stern tone. "All this fighting isn't good for Bella."
Alice held back a scoff. "The fetus isn't good for Bella."
"Say the word, Alice," Rosalie said, a wild look in her eyes. "Baby. It's just a little baby!"
"Possibly," Jasper said tensely.
"Guys," Valeria cut in, rubbing her forehead. She was starting to get the closest thing to a headache that she could get. The constant fighting hadn't been the same as their typical, playful fights that ended with people thrown out windows. "Cut it out."
"Carlisle, you've gotta do something," Jacob said in a pleading tone, looking back at him.
"No," Bella said in a hard tone. "It's not his decision. It's not any of yours."
Jacob took in deep breaths to try and calm down, and that's when Edward finally spoke. "Jacob, I need to talk to you."
Though he didn't want to go, Jacob moved to follow. However, he stopped for a moment and glanced at Valeria, shaking his head in disappointment. "This is what you've been avoiding Sam for?"
"I wasn't avoiding him," she said nervously while fiddling with her fingers. "But my family needs me here."
"Something tells me he isn't going to see it that way."
☽︎
Everything changed an hour later. After failing to convince Bella to get rid of the baby, Jake ran off and shifted out of fury. Every pack member saw in his mind what was happening to Bella. And evidently, Sam wanted her and the child dead before any harm could be done. When Jacob came to warn them, Valeria could only hang her head, her eyes watering as she thought of the burden on Sam's shoulders all because of her family's mistakes.
Now, Jacob was sat in the living room once more, Leah and Seth both outside, having left Sam's pack along with him. Everyone's attention was on him as he recounted what Leah shared with him.
"Sam's lost the element of surprise and he doesn't want to take you on outnumbered, so he's not gonna come at you head-on. He's got the place surrounded and he'll wait for his opportunity," he explained.
"He won't get through without a fight," Emmett said, flexing his biceps and ready to go to war as soon as Carlisle gave the go-ahead.
But he wasn't going to do that, coming to stand behind Esme. "No fights. We won't be the ones to break the treaty."
"The treaty is void," Jacob told him, "at least in Sam's mind."
"Not in ours," Esme told him.
"Carlisle," Emmett said, glancing at Jasper's nearly black eyes, knowing his own looked the same. "No one's hunted for weeks."
"The only one that could maybe get by is Val," Jacob admitted, looking at her. "But Sam's terrified for you. He doesn't want the thing around you. If you leave the property, I wouldn't put it past him to take you away until this is all over."
"Well, can't you just ask him to stop?" Alice asked Valeria. "You're his Imprint. He has to do what you ask of him."
"That's not fair, Alice," Valeria said in a sharp tone. "That's abusing the Imprint Bond and taking away his free will. It's the exact same thing you're trying to do with Bella. I don't have to like what Sam's doing, but I won't manipulate him with the bond. We'll just have to make do."
"Coming from the one that doesn't get hungry," she said under her breath. Then Alice sighed, feeling Jasper ease some of her annoyance that was fueled by her thirst.
"Valeria is right," Carlisle spoke up again. Then he nodded to Jacob in thanks. "You've done us a great service, Jacob. Thank you."
☽︎
Valeria could smell Sam on the property. He was just out of sight, behind the trees, watching her as she stood on her balcony, looking in his general direction.
"I miss you," she whispered, knowing he'd hear. Her eyes were full of tears that'd never fall. "And I'm sorry. I just hope you won't hate me when this is all over."
Her ears picked up on a soft whine, his way of letting her know he'd never hate her. If anything, hearing her defend his actions and their bond made him love her impossibly more.
"I love you."
All she got in return was a howl, and she knew he was calling out for her and her alone.
☽︎
The following week had been hard on all of them, but none more than Bella as the baby she already loved began breaking her ribs and tearing up her insides. She looked more like a corpse as each day passed, and the vampires were beginning to feel that way the longer they went without feeding aside from Valeria. But even she felt weaker even without the burning thirst in her throat. Thankfully, Bella was so sickly that her blood wasn't even appetizing to them. If anything, they felt disgusted at the thought of drinking her tainted blood.
As always, the family sat around the living room, watching as Bella shivered despite being under multiple blankets.
"Are you cold?" Edward asked her. Bella could hardly stand to touch him as of late with how cold he was, which made him feel even more at fault for everything.
"I got it," Jacob said, sliding closer on the couch. In an instant, Bella sighed in relief and leaned into his warm touch, smiling over at him lovingly. It tugged at Jacob's heartstrings. "Don't do that."
"What?" Bella asked cluelessly.
"Smile like I'm your favorite person in the world."
"You're one of them. Feels complete when you're here, Jake."
Valeria sadly looked away, their affection making her both miss Sam's warmth and also feel bad for Edward, as Bella had no clue how much her words hurt him. All Bella had wanted in the last few days was Jacob. This pregnancy was driving a wedge between the newlyweds, one that Valeria wished wasn't there given how little time Bella had left.
Bella was dying, and as if to prove it, a wave of sickness washed over her. Edward was ready, having a trash can under her mouth as she dry heaved while Jacob rubbed her back. But nothing came out as she couldn't even keep fluids in her system let alone food. Carlisle had her hooked up to an IV to keep her hydrated, but even that wasn't working.
"We need to find a way to get some food into her system," Esme said with a frown.
Alice sighed and shook her head. "If I could only see the fetus—"
"The baby," Rosalie corrected instantly. Valeria rolled her eyes, so over their bickering at this point.
It just earned a sharp look from Alice, who wasn't in the mood either. "Maybe I could figure out what it wants."
A nice tasty deer to make it big and strong, Valeria thought longingly. She didn't like feeling weak and tired all the time.
Suddenly, Edward tensed up, looking between Jacob and Valeria. "I think you might be right — both of you. Jacob just had an idea. And Val had a similar one."
Jacob scoffed and rolled his eyes playfully. "It wasn't an idea. It was a snide comment."
"What were you thinking?" Bella questioned.
Jacob huffed, ignoring looking at all the vampires as he said, "That it's probably just looking for someone to sink its teeth into."
Bella sat up a little better. "He's thirsty," she realized.
"I know the feeling," Emmett mumbled, wringing his hands together.
"Val was thinking of a deer, but if it's craving, it's not gonna want animal blood," Edward declared.
"I have some O-negative laid aside for Bella," Carlisle revealed, heading to the kitchen.
Jasper looked up sharply, the thought of human blood making his mouth water. Alice quickly grabbed his hand and led him out. "Walk with me." Rosalie met Emmett's nearly black eyes, nodding and signaling for him to leave the room as well, knowing how thirsty her mate was.
As soon as Carlisle tore open the blood bag and began pouring it into a cup, Valeria tensed up. Even if the craving wasn't there, she knew what a simple taste of human blood would do to her. It'd send her into a frenzy that she wouldn't be able to snap out of despite her humanity gift.
"Wait, wait, wait," Jacob said, sitting up in alarm. "You're gonna make her drink that?"
"It's the fastest way to test the theory," Carlisle said, knowing they were running out of options.
Edward looked at Bella carefully. "Only if you're comfortable with it."
She nodded eagerly. "I'll try anything."
Edward nodded and then looked at the clear glass full of scarlet blood. "Just hold on," he said before taking it from Carlisle and rushing off.
"I think I'm gonna be sick," Jacob muttered while scooting away from Bella.
When Edward returned, he'd transferred the blood to a styrofoam cup with a straw, thinking hiding it away would make Bella more comfortable — Valeria thought it was kind of silly. She took it with shaky hands and slowly took her first sip, the thick liquid making its way up the straw. All of them held their breath, waiting to see if she'd throw it up like everything else she consumed.
"It tastes... good," Bella said after a moment before taking another swallow, humming happily as she finally had something on her stomach. Valeria needlessly sighed in relief, realizing things might be looking up.
Carlisle moved to Bella's side, beginning to check her vitals. "Your pulse is already getting stronger," he told her, smiling hopefully. And if Carlisle had hope, they all did.
☽︎
Things were getting better now that they knew the baby wanted blood. Bella was able to keep it and some solid food for herself down, and some of her color was returning to her. She was so hopeful that she was even going over baby names with them all after Jacob returned from distracting Sam's pack enough for Carlisle, Esme, and Emmett to get through to hunt.
"Hey. Are you okay?" Bella asked Jacob, seeing the long look on his face.
He smiled easily, not wanting her to worry for him. "Yeah, it's not like I'm the one carrying a demon."
"This is pretty important, Bella," Rosalie said with a little smile. "Why don't you tell Jacob what you've decided?"
He raised an eyebrow. "What now?"
"Rose is trying to talk Bella out of her baby names," Edward said with a smirk.
"She hates them," Bella mumbled.
"Because they're stupid," Valeria said while giggling, earning a playful glare from Bella.
"Well, then I'm on your side no matter what you picked."
"They're not that bad. If it's a boy, EJ. Edward Jacob," she explained.
Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine, that one's not awful. Why don't you tell him the girl's name?"
"I was playing around with our moms' names. Renée and Esme. And I was thinking... Renesmee."
Valeria had to cover her mouth and turn away, thinking the name was ridiculous. She couldn't imagine saddling a child with such a horrible name, and Jacob thought the same, but he was a little better at hiding his true feelings.
"Renesmee," he repeated awkwardly, biting back a smile.
"Too weird?"
"Um..."
Edward cut him off, knowing Jacob couldn't find anything good to say in his mind. "No, that's not too weird. It's beautiful. And it's unique, which certainly fits the situation. I like Renesmee."
Bella smiled smugly at Rosalie while reaching for her cup of blood. "He likes it," she whispered, raising her eyebrows over at Valeria, who put her hands up in defeat.
It happened so quickly that the vampires could hardly react. The cup slipped from Bella's hand, who instinctively reached for it. A grotesque crack sounded as her legs gave out and she fell to the floor with a scream. Edward just managed to catch her head before it could smash into the ground.
Valeria was frozen, not knowing what to do as Edward carried Bella's body to Carlisle's office where his medical supplies were. But Jacob yanked the young vampire along, all of them standing over Bella as Alice called Carlisle to explain to him what was going on.
"Rosalie, pass the morphine," Edward ordered, knowing she was the only other one with any medical training.
"Carlisle said the placenta must have detached," Alice said frantically. "He's coming as fast as he can, but..."
"But what?" Valeria asked, feeling like she was about to have a panic attack as Bella screamed in pain. "What?"
"We'll have to do it," Rosalie said while grabbing a scalpel.
"We can't deliver a baby!" Valeria said, running her hands through her hair. "Oh, god. Oh, god."
Before Rosalie could cut into Bella's stomach, Edward grabbed her wrist and stopped her. "Rose! Let the morphine spread."
"There's no time. He's dying!" she shouted, only thinking of the baby and not Bella.
"Get him out now!" Bella explained, feeling the baby writhe and kick inside of her painfully. She didn't care as Rosalie cut into her stomach to begin the C-section.
"Look at me, Bella," Jacob said, grabbing Bella's flailing hand.
When Rosalie cut into Bella's stomach, the blood pooled to the surface, distracting her. Edward was the first to notice her state. "Rosalie, don't!" he shouted before shoving her back. "Val, get her out of here!"
Valeria wasted no time in dragging Rosalie from the room, away from the blood. Rose tried to fight her, but eventually, they got far enough away that she could think clearly.
"I - I'm sorry," Rosalie stuttered, her hands shaking. "I'm fine. I'm fine."
"Are you?" she asked, flinching as she heard the sounds of the baby being torn from Bella's body. "I can't let you back in there if you're going to hurt her."
"I wouldn't hurt either of them," Rosalie promised. "It was just... shock. It's been weeks."
"I know it has," Valeria said sadly. Then she paused and looked back toward the door with a frown. "She's not screaming anymore."
Rosalie's face fell as well. "She's not breathing, Val."
Both girls rushed back to the office, where Edward was holding a baby girl covered in blood while Bella was lying motionless on the table, Jacob screaming her name. He began doing chest compressions.
"Jacob, take the baby," Edward said in a hollow tone, staring at Bella's lifeless body.
"Keep that away from me!" he snapped.
"Edward. I'll take her," Rosalie said, coming back over. Edward eyed her skeptically. "I promise I'm okay. Let me."
"She - she's fine, Edward," Valeria said, her voice cracking as she looked at Bella.
Once his hands were free, Edward rushed to grab a syringe full of a thick, silvery substance.
"What is that?" Jacob asked, eyeing it with concern.
"It's my venom," he explained while injecting it right onto her heart. To help it pump through her veins, he began chest compressions again.
With teary eyes and thinking that more venom might help, Valeria bit Bella's arm, then her wrist, her leg — anywhere, trying to heal her with her venom. But Bella never moved. She didn't scream and writhe in pain as she was meant to, making them doubt that it was working.
"Come on. Bella, come on," Edward muttered desperately.
As Bella remained unresponsive, Jacob shook his head and backed away. "I won't kill you," he said in a bitter tone. "That'd be too easy. You deserve to live with this."
Valeria was the only one left to watch her brother fall apart, trying to save someone who was already dead. And she couldn't even hug him to comfort him.
"You're not dead. You're not dead. Come on! No, it will work. It will work. Please, please, please, please. Come back to me, please, baby. Bella, Bella, please, please."
"Edward," Valeria whispered, taking a step closer.
"No!" he shouted, whipping around to glare at her. "She's not dead!"
Her chin wobbled, a sob coming up her throat. "Edward," she said again, her voice hoarse. "There's nothing else you can do."
"No—"
"She's dead, Edward. Bella's dead."